Okay, I admit it. I took time off from posting material on my blog. Other things took priority like visiting grandchildren, finishing my next novel—Wormwood Politically Correct—and vacationing in Italy. Speaking of Italy, there used to be a time when European men would not wear shorts, only long pants throughout the year. A bit of a more formal look. Now that is going by the wayside, as men of all ages are slipping into shorts on summer days.

I attended a recent Marine Corps Air Station Air Show at Cherry Point, North Carolina. A terrific display of piloting skills by the civilian stunt pilots, the marine pilots, and the Navy’s Blue Angels. These folks complete unbelievable maneuvers at hundreds of miles per hour and in very close proximity to one another. Truly impressive. And I couldn’t imagine the complex communications that must take place between the pilots as they perform.

I was at my son and daughter-in-law’s home in Atlanta recently. Every couple of days someone would cry out, “Grandpop, Pop, Bob, Dad (they would all be me). Help! A giant cockroach is crossing the floor! Hurry! Quick! Yuck!”

I saw an ad on TV recently for a six-blade shaving razor for men. Six blades? Could that be possible? The last time I bought a bag of plastic razors each had two blades and a tiny moisturizer strip, the same razor I’ve been buying for years.

I’m sure most citizens of these great United States have no idea how many commemorative days and months have been legislated at the local, state, and federal level. Everyone is familiar with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Fourth of July, Veterans Day and the like. And most of you are aware of month-long celebrations like Black History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, and Jewish-American Heritage Month along with others. You might think there would maybe be a few more, but you would be wrong, as in way wrong.

Let’s tackle the hard question. Of all the events going on in the Winter Olympics in South Korea, how many do any of us really relate to? I say few to none. For example, what about the many varieties of ski jumping where the participants are flying through the air, twisting around like corkscrews, and landing on a crazy downhill slope so steep they could never walk up it? Or skeleton racing where competitors lie on sleds so small their heads stick out in front, hurling down an ice-packed track at ninety miles-an-hour. Or cross-country skiing where contestants frequently collapse at the end due to complete exhaustion. Nobody I know identifies with any of these. So why don’t Olympic leaders start migrating toward activities we all understand, and millions actually participate in each winter?

The last time you went for a drive in the country, did you happen to notice the number of things that had been abandoned? Houses, barns, sheds, cars, trucks, tractors, and lawn mowers, to name a few. And not just abandoned. The buildings were all slowly rotting away, leaning at odd angles, covered in kudzu and ivy, roofs collapsed, all slowly heading into a permanent horizontal position. The cars and trucks were sporting busted windows and flat tires, along with weeds and scrub bushes, and tree seedlings that now made up the passenger list on a trip to nowhere. And all the other equipment lying around, that used to have a purpose, was now rusting away in silent protest.

Last week I was sitting with my wife in coach on a flight to Florida. As I was trying to read my copy of the National Enquirer cover article on Brad’s sixteenth remarriage proposal to Angelina, a flight attendant announced over the PA system, in great detail, the benefits of a new bank credit card the airline was promoting. Then, in order to book a ton of sales, she walked down the aisle with applications in hand, screeching out the same offer at every seat row.

Good news, readers. I’ve come across a noteworthy doctor who writes an advice column for the Wormwood Telegraph, the leading news outlet in Wormwood, West Virginia. Dr. Norbert Fish, an eminent psychologist, who completed his undergraduate studies at Wormwood University followed by years of practice in the Psychology Department in the School of Astrology at Uzbekistan University in Tashkent.